right now on msnbc, off the cliff. congress misses the midnight deadline. just two hours into the new year, though, the senate votes in favor of a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. >> the yeas are 89, the nays are 8, 60-vote partial having been achieved, the bill as amended is passed. >> so, now it's all up to the house, where lawmakers will pick up the measure at 12:00 noon today. meantime, in good spirits. doctors report secretary of state hillary clinton is making progress while being treated for a blood clot in her head at new york hospital. >> three, two, one! >> and ringing in 2013. close to a million people packed new york's times square to watch the ball drop and celebrate 2013. good morning, everyone. it is january 1st. welcome to this special new year's edition of "msnbc live." i'm chris jansing. well, we do have a deal, but it's not a done deal just yet. a little bit after 2:00 eastern

time this morning, two hours after the u.s. economy officially went over the fiscal cliff, the senate passed a deal to avert its worst effects. the bill passed easily. it was a vote of 89-8, and it set up a showdown in the house which will convene four hours from now. republican leader mitch mcconnell said the process wasn't pretty but it got the job done. >> each of us could spend the rest of the week discussing what a perfect solution would have looked like, but the end result would have been the largest tax increase in american history. so, it took an imperfect solution to prevent our constituents from a very real financial pain, but in my view, it was worth the effort. >> so, here's what in that imperfect bill. tax rates will rise for individuals making over $400,000 and couples making more than $450,000. high-end rates for the estate tax and the capital gains tax will rise. all of those elements will be made permanent. in addition, the alternative

minimum tax, which is patched every year, will be fixed permanently. several tax credits, including ones for children, college tuition and earned income, will be extended for five years. and long-term unemployment benefits will be extended for a year. now, the big issue not addressed, those sequester spending cuts, which are simply being delayed for two months. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell has more on how it went down. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. this new year means a new day for possible bipartisanship. we've been building up to this fiscal cliff and the deal finally came together late on new year's eve, and it took the vice president coming here to make the final sale to fellow democrats. biden had been negotiating with the top republican in the senate, and they've come together on a deal that keeps most people's taxes right where they have been, but it does set higher taxes for couples who will earn more than $450,000 a year. it will also put off for two months the across-the-board

spending cuts that would have affected the military and most federal agencies. now, that will have an impact. it means that there will be future negotiations and likely future fights about how to deal with paying for a way to bring down the deficit by other kinds of cuts. that's been at the heart of this fight. now, today the house of representatives comes in, they cast a vote, and because the senate vote is so overwhelmingly bipartisan, 89-8, it's hoped that that will have influence in the house to at least get this deal done now with a chance to talk about some of these issues some more in the new congress and in the months ahead. chris? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you. well, all eyes do now turn to the republican-controlled house and speaker john boehner. about two hours before the senate voted, the house leadership said it would take a wait-and-see approach. "decisions about whether the house will seek to accept or promptly amend the measure will not be made until house members and the american people have been able to review the legislation." with me now, "the washington

post's" david machimura and steve toma, chief political correspondent for "mclatchy" newspapers. good morning. >> good morning. >> happy new year. >> happy new year. david, let's talk about what we're going to see in the house. obviously, if it passes, a lot of people will probably be voting yes while they're holding their nose, but could there also be a revolt from conservative members that could threaten this bill? >> i think, chris, you can never predict completely smooth passage, especially in the house, but i think the senate wouldn't feel this confident about the bill had there not been some discussion between the two chambers. and i think if you look back to a year ago when there was a fight over the payroll tax, a similar sort of thing played out where the senate republicans did approve a measure that gave some cover to their house compatriots. john boehner has not, you know, been completely predictive on this, but he has pledged to bring it forward, and i think enough democrats may support it with republicans that it should get through. >> steve, on the surface, speaker boehner has been between a rock and a hard place to pass

this bill. he's basically had to step aside. it became the mitch mcconnell/joe biden show. where does this leave him? >> well, it leaves him as a very passive player. he has not endorsed a deal, he wasn't part of the negotiation of the deal and it was very notable that at about 2:00 this morning, his only statement was i'll let it come to a vote, not that i'll vote for it, not that i want it to pass, not that i'll recommend it to republicans. he's currently just going to allow it to come to the floor, hope most republicans will vote. most conservative members are free to vote against it knowing there will be some democratic votes, and maybe john boehner will survive as speaker, but he's not got a strong hand. >> well, david, let's go back to senate for a moment and the fact that vice president biden was called in. here's he and mitch mcconnell. these are not the most powerful guys. i guess they show that they're number two guys. they've been together working on these kinds of deals for something like 30 years now or

close to 30 years. i don't think you'd call them close friends, but they do seem to be able to get things done. what does this mean for all the things that are left out there hanging going forward? >> that's an interesting point. you know, a year and a half ago on the debt ceiling debate, vice president biden was right involved in that and really helping lead the white house effort. he was less active this time. we didn't see him much. and you know, as the president sort of initially started bringing all the congressional leaders, we've seen the president seemed to be talking with john boehner. when that fell apart, though, mitch mcconnell did step in. these are old-time senate folks who have been together, as you said, for a long time. i think they pride themselves as deal-makers in the end. i think they stepped in, biden was happy to do so. he likes to be involved. going forward, though, it is interesting because we're going to have another fight within a couple months on both the debt ceiling and the sequestration, the sequester cuts are going to come forward. they're going to have to figure out what to do, because it's only a delay. and so, you're going to have this happen again.

so you might look to see what cue the white house sends by how involved vice president biden is going forward. >> well, steve, let's talk about that. the one big issue that was not dealt with are the spending cuts, simply put on hold for two months that, by the way, seems to be the timeline for the debt ceiling debate to heat up again. for all the things this bill deals with, how big a failure was it not to address the sequester? >> well, it clearly was a failure, and the white house in the end last evening, they were the ones who wanted to deal with it. the senate democrats wanted to put that off for a year, delay the spending cuts. they don't want to cut spending at all and don't want to talk about it, but it was the white house pushing for a two or three-month delay because they wanted to bring it up now and resolve it. they wanted to bring it up at the same time of the debt ceiling, bring it up probably in mid-february things will start coming to a head, and they'd like to resolve it and resolve it permanently. so, it will be a big debate. it's not quite a cliff next time, but there's another bump in the road just a few weeks down the road. >> all right, steve, david, thanks to both of you and happy

new year. >> thanks, chris. >> happy new year. >> so, what can we expect in the lower chamber when the house convenes at noon? i'm joined by kentucky democratic congressman john yermouth. you were on the floor yesterday calling for reasonable compromise. is this it? >> i think it is certainly on the taxes. i'm very supportive of the agreement that was reached. i think the threshold on income taxes is something that most people will agree is very reasonable. i think raising capital gains and dividend rates only for people making over that $400,000 limit makes sense, and i'm fine with the estate tax compromise. so, i think that was a very, very good compromise, and i think everybody ought to be proud of the work, even though not the process. but the sequester is going to be a very significant issue. and you know, if there are any votes against this deal today from democrats, it will be over the spending issue and not over the taxes.

>> well, there are people who thought that the president didn't do a very good job of negotiation, in fact, that he caved in too many areas. are you concerned about that? >> no, i'm really not. you know, what's interesting about this is most of the democrats, anyway, in the house now, the liberal democrats come from districts of relatively high income, so their citizens i think would be very supportive of things where you're talking about san francisco and l.a. and new york. these are the high-income areas that most of our most progressive members are from. so, you know, i think the president did what he had to do, and i compliment senator mcconnell, which i rarely do, because they basically decided to deal with the things that were doable, and you know, that's always i think the sign of intelligent government, if not necessarily, again, the most desirable process. >> let me play what iowa senator tom harkin had to say about this, one of the people who had some concerns. he voted no. >> mm-hmm. >> now, i'm not saying that everything in this deal is bad.

there are some good parts of this, but i repeat, i am concerned about this constant drift, bit by bit, deal by deal, toward more deficits, less job-creation, more unfairness, less economic justice, a society where the gap grows wider between the few who have much and the many who have too little. >> tom harkin is among those who have said repeatedly that this deal does not address the needs of the real middle class, people making $40,000, $50,000, $60,000 a year. does he have a point? >> well, he has part of a point, but on the other hand, this package, as i understand it, extended the eitc for five years and the affordable -- >> earned income tax credit for people who don't know the shorthand. >> right, for the low-income working families. and so, i think there are actually a lot of good things in here that were at risk.

unemployment benefits for those people who are having a hard time finding a job. so, i think there was a lot in here for middle and low-income families, things that we weren't necessarily guaranteed we were going to get a week ago, so i'm not sure i agree totally with senator harkin on that. >> some of the issues not addressed -- no entitlement reform, no reform of the tax code, obviously, a punting on the sequester. was this also a big missed opportunity? >> well, you know, i'm one who doesn't believe that you can do entitlement reform, changes to medicare, medicaid, social security, things that affect tens of millions of people, in this kind of a process, up against a deadline, two or three people negotiating. that's not the way to do this. it would have no credibility if we changed those programs substantially in this kind of a process. so, and i think the same argument can be made about sequester. when we're trying to decide whether to protect medicaid, education spending, food stamps, nutrition programs, all the things that the sequester

protected, as opposed to doing what speaker boehner's plan "b" did last week, which was basically to increase defense spending and slash all those other programs. you know, again, i don't think that's the kind of thing you do up against the deadline with only a few people negotiating. that's something that requires transparency. so, i'm actually glad we didn't do that. >> let me ask you really quickly, i know the ball is in speaker boehner's court, but what are you hearing about when there will be a vote and what's your prediction on what it will be? >> i think it will probably be mid-afternoon. i think there will be a substantial -- virtually all democrats will support it, i think, in the house. i'm sure there will be 50 to 75 republicans who won't vote for it. but i need to say something in support of speaker boehner. he's in a very, very difficult spot, and to a certain extent, given the dynamics of the three-way negotiations or four-way, maybe, both the republicans and the democrats became somewhat irrelevant in this process, and it's really risky what he has done to

basically to agree to bring this thing to the floor when so many of his conference don't like it. so, i actually give him credit because i think he's taken a pretty courageous stand, even if he wasn't a very powerful player in negotiating it. >> congressman johnar muth, good to see you. thanks. >> good to see you, chris, thanks. >> up next, the fiscal cliff and you. what the deal struck last night by the senate means for your bottom line. plus, we'll also have the latest on secretary of state hillary clinton's condition. she continues to get treatment for a blood clot in a new york hospital. and then later, coming to a theater near you. the new movies hitting the big screen in 2013. which will be the blockbusters and which won't be worth your buck?

so, here we are, 98% of

americans will avoid a tax hike in the new year, of course, if the house goes along with the fiscal cliff deal that was reached in the senate very early this morning. individuals earning $400,000 a year, couples earning $450,000, will see their income taxes rise on amounts above their annual salary. and in addition to income taxes, the senate plan prevents other tax hikes and extends key benefits. here to talk about what this fiscal cliff deal could mean to you is retail and economic analyst hitha. >> happy new year. >> a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief, obviously. they were worried about these across-the-board expirations, that their taxes would have gone up. this is good news for most interns. >> most americans making under $400,000 a year, so making $399,000, but those that are making $400,000 or couples making $450,000 a year, they're going to have to pay that tax. now, why this is important or why they, you know, it's good for the economy, is because a

lot of these people that are making in that tax bracket can actually hire. you're talking about small businesses here. before the fiscal cliff talks were happening, the national federation of independent businesses were saying that only 5% of those small businesses were going to hire. so, that's a small amount. now with this new kind of confidence, people are probably going to hire more, in addition to invest in those businesses. almost 19% are expected to invest in businesses over the next year. >> also, the alternative minimum tax gets fixed. a lot of people may not even know what that is. why is it important? >> now, this is a tax that often rears its ugly head across and over the years, and congress, you know, tries to keep it at bay. this was something that was supposed to be implemented for high net worth people, and it's being implemented on people who are that i can making between -- >> reaching into the middle class a little bit. >> it was creeping into the middle class. almost $3,000 worth of taxes were going to be implemented or having being imposed upon

consumers, i guess taxpayers, that were making around $75,000 to $200,000. that's not going to happen. and really why that's important is because we're looking at consumer confidence numbers, right? you saw them. they came out in december. they were the lowest they've been since july of 2010 -- or excuse me, 2012. and now you're going to probably see a bump up in that consumer confidence as we go into january. >> one thing that's not being extended, that's the payroll tax holiday. what will that mean? >> right. again, we're talking about consumer confidence, so we might see little bit of that kind of shake the consumer confidence a little bit, but on the flip side, that's going to generate that revenue that congress wanted that they were thinking may have possibly been generated from that alternative tax. >> hitha, thank you for coming in. nice to see you. a new petition has been started on the white house website, and it calls for an end to all this petition-starting. it says "white house petitions are being gamed into the point of absurdity and maybe it's time for the petition to end all

petitions." in its one-year history, the we the people website has aimed petitions to texas secession for securing funding for darth vader's death star fortress. [ hudson ] we're human. we fall down. we gain weight. and we get back up. strength and determination are human too. so are dinner dates and birthday cake. introducing the new weight watchers 360 program. built for human nature so you can expect amazing. ♪ on top of the world right now ♪ join for free and expect amazing. because it works.

as many revelers return home from holiday getaways today, the airlines are marking a major milestone. 2012 was the safest year for air travel ever. that's not just in the u.s., but worldwide. in fact, there hasn't been a single fatal commercial airline accident in nearly four years. let's bring in brian kelly, founder of the travel site thepoin thepointsguy.com. i understand you logged about 200,000 miles last year, so you have a little experience with this, but is this sort of a cyclical thing or can all those white-knuckle fliers actually take solace in the fact that it is getting safer to travel by air? >> well, i certainly hope it's

not a cyclical thing. but no, air travel in general is very safe and it's certainly much safer than actually traveling by car or by bus or train. so, you know, fliers should not be nervous about getting up in the air, especially in 2013. >> okay, here's what makes a lot of fliers nervous, and that is the cost of flying. are we going to continue to see prices to rise? i've been shocked at the cost of just one 1 1/2-hour flight, $400 or $500 in some cases. >> you know, i think the big question in the air is consolidation within the airline industry. i think the big word on the street is whether american airlines, who's currently in bankruptcy, is going to actually merge with us airways. a lot of people think that's going to happen. and you know, the less airlines out there, the less competition, and you know, one would think higher airfares. but i have to say, lately, especially within the last quarter of 2012, airfares did actually come down a little bit compared to last year. i know i fly frequently from new york to los angeles, and

airfares were around $250 roundtrip if you book in advance, so it's all about booking in advance and using your frequent flyer miles and just being savvy and leveraging social media to get the cheapest fare. >> so, if you can, absolutely book ahead and maybe plan a little getaway. you're about to release your top ten interesting travel destinations for 2013 on your blog, and i want to go over a couple of them. let me start with the african nation of namibia. >> yes. namibia rose to fame with angelina jolie adopting a child. and you know, last year and especially going forward, it's little bit expensive to go on safari, but more and more people are actually traveling to africa. it's absolutely safe, it's stunning. so, if you've got a little extra cash to spare, if you're one of those people the office calf cliff fiscal cliff is not going to hit you hard, a safari vacation, hitting up namibia, south africa's amazing, it's a trip of a lifetime. i'm actually going to south africa on friday. i can't wait. >> oh, a lot of us are jealous about that. for those who want a little winter getaway, you recommend

puerto rico. >> puerto rico is hot right now. the island right off of puerto rico, vieces. it used to be a u.s. military base, and within the last couple years, it's really been booming. there's a lot of different bed and breakfasts. "w" hotels known for swanky resorts just built a property there a couple years ago. i went last year and it's absolutely beautiful. there's a bioluminescent bay -- >> a bioluminescent bay? >> yeah, you can go kayaking, and every time you put your kayak in the water, the organisms in the water light up blue at night. it's absolutely spectacular. >> and let me finally finish with one that may surprise some people, but you're recommending also the american south. i'm a big new orleans fan. >> new orleans is amazing for the food. and actually, one of my favorite cities is asheville, north carolina. it's got a booming food scene. some people call it the san francisco of the east coast. so, for those people who, you know, may not have the cash to go abroad, there are plenty of amazing destinations within the

u.s., including charleston, south carolina, as well. >> and we can find your whole list on thepointsguy.com. brian kelly, thanks so much for coming in. happy new year. >> happy new year. and coming up, the fiscal cliff showdown. did the president's midday presser hurt or help the down-the-wire negotiations? and the latest on the prognosis for secretary of state hillary clinton, who rang in the new year in a new york hospital. [ male announcer ] kids grow up in no time... marie callender's turkey breast with stuffing is a great reason to slow down. creamy mash potatoes, homestyle gravy and 320 calories. marie callender's. it's time to savor.

with vice president joe biden acting as the closer, this country is one step closer to getting a fiscal deal done. after the senate vote, the president warned house republicans not to stand in the way. "while neither democrats nor republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the house should pass it without delay." kristen welker is nbc's white house correspondent. kristen, good morning and happy new year to you. what's the white house expecting today? >> reporter: good morning and happy new year to you, chris. well, i think they are feeling

optimistic about their chances of their legislation making its way through the house. of course, you had mitch mcconnell and vice president biden as the lead negotiators, but they were in close contact with leaders in the house as well, with minority leader nancy pelosi, with speaker boehner. and there's one source who's familiar with these negotiations who said mitch mcconnell is a savvy politician. he would not have signed off on this deal if he didn't think it had a very strong chance of making its way through the house. and remember also, chris, this passed with broad bipartisan support, 89 votes. so, that is going to make it easier for speaker boehner to say to his conference, look, this passed with broad bipartisan support in the senate. this is not a perfect deal, but we should pass this deal. there's also a careful political calculation going on here, chris, which is that the white house, the democrats are essentially making house republicans own this at this now way beyond the 12th hour.

we're beyond the deadline at this point. and that is to say that if house republicans were to vote against it, if it weren't to make its way through the house, they would own that failure, they would be responsible for taxes going up on all americans. so, there's a lot of pressure right now on them to get something done. is it a done deal? absolutely not. we have to wait until every vote is counted, of course, but i think that the white house democrats as well as mitch mcconnell are feeling quite confident that it will make its way through the house today. chris? >> kristen, thank you so much for that. >> reporter: absolutely. looking beyond the senate deal, president obama is warning republicans that if they want future spending cuts, they're going to have to provide more tax revenue as well. >> if republicans think that i will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts alone -- and you hear that sometimes coming from them, that sort of after today we're just going to try to shove only

spending cuts down -- well, shove spending cuts at us. if they think that's going to be the formula for how we solve this thing, then they've got another think coming. >> that midday news conference didn't go over well with a lot of republicans, and they said that the president's sometimes mocking tone, as they felt it was, could hurt the fiscal cliff deal in the house. >> as i sort out my impressions of the president's remarks as to whether to be angry or to saddened. we have the president of the united states go over and have a cheerleading ridiculing of republicans exercise. >> let's bring in democratic strategist and former edwards communications director chris ka fiance and republican strategist and former huckabee campaign manager chip saltzman. what a way to start the new year. good morning, gentlemen. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> chris, do you think objectively, did the president maybe go too far, did he push maybe a few too many republican

buttons yesterday? >> you know, i'm not sure how he pushed too many republican buttons. the problem here isn't the president going out there and trying to apply as much political pressure as he can. the president's power in these kind of negotiations to a large extent is the bully pulpit, and he's tried to use that as effectively as possible, but when you look at the reality of this whole process, it has been an awful, ugly, you know, pretty embarrassing process. you have the republicans in the house, you know, and speaker boehner seemingly cannot control his caucus, he simply cannot figure out what his next step is on seemingly any piece of legislation. and so, to criticize the president for somehow making this political process political? i find it very strange. >> well, republicans were clearly annoyed, though, chip, by the president's remarks. a spokeswoman for house majority leader eric cantor tweeted this -- "i'm confused. does potus want a deal or not, because all those jabs at congress certainly sounded like a smack in the face to me."

but in the end, will it really have any impact on the vote today? >> i don't think it will on the vote today, but i can tell you that people i talked to after the conference were very upset with it, almost like he spiked the ball after a touchdown, the game wasn't quite over and he should have been flagged for excessive celebration like he's never been in the end zone before. i've always said the leadership is not taking the political shot even when it's easy to, and the president took an easy political shot yesterday, but i don't think it's going to affect the outcome either way. >> and he did draw a line in the sand, there's no doubt about that, chris, but given what is facing both sides, i mean, it's going to be, i think as chuck todd said, you know, this morning, that march is going to be -- if you thought this was bad, wait until you see what's going on in march when we're trying to deal with all these other issues. is it helpful, this kind of rhetoric, moving forward? i mean, really, the big stuff is still ahead. >> well, i think the divide between the two parties and the leaders in particular is so, so broad, i think the only tool the president has is to try to apply as much political pressure as he

can. that doesn't seem to work. private negotiations doesn't seem to work. you know, semi-public conversations doesn't seem to work. i'm not sure what moves the republicans to get a deal where they compromise and come to the realization that you cannot solve the fiscal problems of this country without more revenue. you cannot do it with spending cuts alone. and that is, i think, the major divide here. so, if everyone thought this was fun, wait until they see the debt ceiling debacle that is coming. >> how long can we keep operating this way, though, chip? i mean, at some point, you just wonder what's going to have to happen. you know, even the complaints about how this was done. i mean, a lot of the members of congress saying, you know, i'm irrelevant to this, i'm marginalized. i don't know what's going on, the american people don't know what's going on. and in the end, you have mitch mcconnell and joe biden riding to the rescue, but you just wonder how we move forward from this. >> and we always knew at the

last minute, a lot of people's new year's eve plans were blown away last night -- >> no, really? >> and now i think we're looking at spring break and easter as well, so don't plan on any -- >> i said to the guys on the show last night, don't make your plans for valentine's night. in fact, just don't make any plans, period. >> there's no reason to make any plans, because we're going to take it to the last minute. and like we said, if we think this is an ugly win, wait for the debt limit because that's when we'll be talking about the tough choices, which is the spending cuts, and that's going to be even tougher than this. >> well, we'll see what happens this afternoon in the house for starters. chris kofinis, chip saltzman, good to see you. and now an update on the health of hillary clinton. the outgoing secretary of state remains in the hospital for treatment for a blood clot between her skull and brain. nbc chief health correspondent bob bazell is here with more. you were down at the hospital this morning. what do we know about her condition? >> well, happy new year, first of all. >> happy new year.

as we've been spending it together. >> yeah, we've been spending it together talking about this. we now know that mrs. clinton had a much more serious condition than a lot of people assumed. a lot of people were speculating that it was a blood clot in the leg. it wasn't, because we didn't have all the information. it wasn't a blood clot in the leg, it was a blood clot very close to the brain but not in the brain. and that means that it can be dissolved with a blood-thinning drug. >> which is what they're treating her with. >> which is what they're treating her with, and all indications are that she's doing well, making a complete recovery. the big danger with a blood clot in that area is that it can grow and grow back into the brain and cause some kind of stroke. now, they say they've done a complete neurological work-up. there is no indication of any kinds of problems that would indicate that she had a stroke and there's no reason to think that there will be nothing but a full recovery here. >> this all, we believe, came about as a result of the concussion that she suffered. she had a flu.

she was severely dehydrated. she apparently fainted at her home and had a concussion. >> that's right. this is not a real common complication of a concussion. it's known to happen and trauma doctors know to look for it. and it is also not uncommon for it to happen, as it did in her case, weeks after the concussion. because what happens is a little bit of clot forms and then clots start to grow inside the brain. so, she probably -- and we don't know this -- had some reason to go to the doctor on the sunday of new year's weekend -- >> maybe a headache or -- >> something, not feeling right. they saw what was going on and they immediately got her into the hospital where they started to treat this, which, if it had gotten much worse, it could have been serious, but they got it in time and it's not. >> quickly, they're keeping her there because they need to regulate these blood thinners? >> blood thinning medication is something that is not just -- you don't just take a pill. it's got to be exactly individualized for every patient, and that's what they're doing for her. and she'll probably be on blood

thinning medications for years, if not for the rest of her life. >> bob bazell, good to see you again. happy new year to you. >> thanks. well, will house democrats get on board with the senate's deal to avoid the fiscal cliff? up next, we'll talk to chief deputy whip peter welch. and still ahead, will 2013 be a blockbuster deal for hollywood? we have your sneak peek at movies coming to a theater near you. resources they need. bright students are getting lost in the shuffle. and administration's work gets more complex every year. when you look at these issues, do you see problems or opportunities? with an advanced degree in education from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to meet these challenges and make a difference in the lives of students. let's get started at capella.edu.

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this is definitely well short of that. and it's once again a situation where instead of doing everything together with the grand bargains the president said, where both sides would feel some pain but get significant benefit, we've done a fiscal patch. somebody said it was a band-aid over a gunshot wound, and that's more or less what we have. >> what about sequester? that's one of the big things, put off until march. it's like there are all these building blocks of fights that are upcoming in the next couple of months. >> well, it's even worse than that, because that's going to be accompanied by the debt ceiling debacle. and you know, now there is this nuclear option of using the debt ceiling, threatening to default on america's bills as leverage to get the cuts that you want. so, obviously, the better approach would have been what the president wanted, which, frankly, speaker boehner had said he wanted, a grand bargain. the reality in this town and this dysfunctional congress at the moment, is that seems to elude us. so, this is a short-term matter

where you get the benefit of some revenues to make a contribution towards resolution and you do avoid the fiscal cliff and you get the economy somewhat stabilized. is that worth it, even though the big price we pay is once again failing to come up with a grand bargain. >> so, you have these important, difficult issues upcoming and you have a new congress, although it's not substantially different. there are some new democrats on both sides of the aisle. and i know you are among those, and it seems to be a growing course of people who have been critical of this process, the way it all played out. i mean, in the end, it became mitch mcconnell and joe biden. the majority of lawmakers essentially cut out of the process, including, arguably, the speaker. so, how can things be done differently if you're going to do things like getting the debt ceiling taken care of, like figuring out the sequester? >> well, this was a unique situation because we did have the fiscal cliff and we had a lame duck congress. what i think we have to start trying to do is return to what's called around here regular

order. there really is no such thing in this congress. but what that means is that the committees actually consider the bills. and the thing that is really the challenge for us is to get republicans and democrats to be working on these committees, talking about the different issues and trying to come up with some compromises. right now, it's just an all-or-nothing proposition, and the republicans have the majority in the house and it's their way or the highway. the senate filibuster is a big impediment. and in the old days that people speak about with some respect, republicans and democrats had meaningful interactions all along the way, so in the end it wasn't just this cliff deal. >> isn't it interesting that two 70-year-olds who have been around for decades were the ones to at least finally get the quick fix done. but the president said the other day he felt a broader agreement could be reached over time. let me play folks what he said as a reminder. >> my preference would have been to solve all these problems in the context of a larger agreement, but with this

congress, that was obviously a little too much to hope for at this time. it may be we can do it in stages. we're going to solve this problem instead in several steps. >> i think the way jennifer steinhauer put it in "the new york times" today, because she did a whole article about this, is that all these grand dreams have somehow been miniaturized. >> right. >> is there hope, though, do you think, going forward in any way? >> there has got to be. i mean, if you do this job and you remember that you represent folks who are trying to pay their bills, they're working in a tough economy, they ought to have some confidence that congress can have their back, and they're really fed up with our inability to get things done. that's a motivator for a lot of us to do whatever we can each day. but the bottom line is that there really is an electoral gridlock here. you know, a lot of the republicans who are going to consider this vote in the house, they're going to vote against this because the districts that they ran in and won in, they promised to lower taxes, not

raise taxes. and obviously, there's got to be a restoration of the validity of compromise here if we're going to get a grand bargain, and that's -- >> do you have any hope that today the house will pass the bill? >> i think it will pass because i think there will be enough democrat support for it. and the republicans, many of them will vote no, but appreciate the fact that speaker boehner is bringing this up so they can move on. so, my prediction -- >> so despite the fact that you think it falls well short of your goals, you'll vote yes? >> well, i'm in the process of deciding that right now, because -- >> you're not sure? >> i'm not sure. i really want to fully evaluate it. and really, if i vote for it, it's not because i'm excited about it. it's not because i have any illusion that it's a grand bargain that the president seeks. it is just a question of pick your poison. do you want to avoid the cliff? there's some benefit in doing that. do you want to do something that has some bipartisan support? there's some benefit in that. but as a fiscal package going forward to stabilize this

country, it falls well short. >> congressman peter welch, thank you so much for coming on the program. >> thank you. >> and we'll be right back. e pos were much larger. and i just felt like i needed to eat it all because it was so yummy. weight watchers online worked for me because it lets me live my life. i can still go out with my friends. i can still enjoy my favorite foods and drinks. it's just a smarter way of eating. i lost 40 lbs. wow it's amazing. my most favorite part of my new body is my bottom. [ laughs ] [ hudson ] weight watchers online. the power of weight watchers completely online. join for free today. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

oscar voters will have an extra day to cast their ballots following criticism of their new electronic voting system. the motion picture academy says members will have until friday to vote for their favorite films of 2012. but while they're looking back, the studios have a new slate of movies ready for 2013. some of them could be big box office blockbusters. take a look. >> i'm so sorry, mr. connor. it won't ever happen again. >> i swear to god. >> you're talking to god, so you might as well swear to me. >> it's mickey's town. you're not going to change anything around here, serge. >> you're losing los angeles to an eastern crook. it's just a crime wave. >> it's energy occupation.

>> i need you to wage war against him. >> i'm looking to put a squad together. >> that's from the new film "gangster squad," it debuts this week. entertainment and pop culture expert of popgoestheweek.com is with me. good to see you. >> happy new year. >> happy new year. let's go through quickly the big ones coming out. "identity thief." >> that's coming in february. jennifer mccarthy and jason bateman. jason bateman has his identity stolen and when the police don't help, he seeks out the person who did it and took turns to find this woman, who ends up being much more than he bargained for. >> i'll bet. >> she is one of these people that i just see her, she makes me laugh. and so, she is going to be -- i think this is going to be a sleeper hit. >> oz the great and powerful. >> "the wizard of oz" has endured the test of time. this film follows james franco as the wizard and follows his

journey to oz. michelle williams is in it, mila kunis is in it. it's going to be a huge blockbuster. big budgets, big special effects, visually stunning. >> i love this title, "the incredible bert wonderstone." >> you have steve carell and steve buscemi as a paris in vegas who find their star is fading because of a guy played by jim carrey, the david blaine type doing stunts. hysterical -- >> ridiculous. >> yeah, just accept that it will be ridiculous and you almost don't rods steve buscemi. >> yeah, we're used to him now from hbo. plenty of silly stuff in april. >> that's right. "scary movie 5," which actually -- >> oh, which i've been waiting for. >> i know you have. you can't stop tweeting about it! but it's an all-star cast, using the term star relatively in some cases. but whatever we're talking about is the lindsay lohan cameo. apparently, she's already seen a epreview and is very unhappy.

but i think people will be watching that because we already know a little more about the fate of lindsay lohan at that time. y . >> yes, let's talk about may, the start of the blockbuster season. >> they'll bring out "iron man 3," iron man 2" made $312 million in 2010. so that will be big. also, "the great gatsby," beautifully stunning visually, but it was supposed to be released in december. this is supposed to be a holiday release and they pulled it off the docket to release it in may. so, there's of course speculation about why did they delay that opening? so, there may be trouble or maybe they were just making it perfect, who knows? >> all right, brian balfesar, quick prediction this year? >> "lincoln." >> okay, i'm not going to disagree. coming up, what will speaker boehner do?

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